Bonds
by PerpetualRetrograde
Summary: WARNING: BOY X BOY ACE X LUFFY War has broken out throughout the Grand Line between the Celestial Dragons and the Resistance forces. Ace and Luffy have been brutally separated and are reunited under very different circumstances eight years later. The question is whether or not Luffy can mend his severed bond with his beloved older brother.
1. Chapter 1:Reunion

Portgas D. Ace shifted awake to the sound of curtains being drawn back. Bright light flooded his eyes, accompanied with a cold voice.

"Wake up. Break needs you," Trafalgar Law said.

Ace groaned. "What is it this time?"

"Our troops up North were wiped out."

Ace's eyes flew open. He jerked up from the crumpled sheets. "Wiped out?" he repeated in disbelief," We had two thousand troops up there! And Marco was in charge!"

"I know," Law said grimly, "But they completely crushed us. That's why Break needs you."

"And Marco?" Ace's thoughts flashed back to the good natured smile and tuft of unruly blonde hair.

Law shook his head and turned away. Ace caught the cargo pants Law tossed at him and wordlessly pulled them on. There was no point in pushing the subject.

…..

"Luffy!"

Luffy turned around to see Nami shaking a frying pan at him, twenty or so feet away. "Come here!" she yelled, "We have to leave in fifteen minutes!"

"I'll be right there!" Luffy shouted back. He turned back to face the glittering surface of the sea, reflecting the high noon sun.

"Hurry!" Nami's insistent call summoned.

"Alright," Luffy sighed. He reluctantly clambered to his feet and leaped agilely off the rock he had been seated on. He glanced back at the ocean sadly. He had no idea when he would be able to see it again. All the civilians in Lone Island were being evacuated to the facility located in Alabasta- an impenetrable desert.

"I told you a million times we have to finish packing!" Nami snapped as he jogged back towards her.

"Sorry, sorry," he muttered, rushing past her, into the house. He almost crashed into Zoro who had three or four cardboard boxes precariously balanced in his muscular arms.

"Watch it," he growled.

"Sorry," Luffy said again.

"God damnit, I can't believe the war has reached us already," Usopp sighed, emerging from behind Zoro, He was saddled with four canvas sacks. "I thought we would be safe, this place being cut off from civilization and whatnot."

"No use grumbling over it," Zoro replied, loading the boxes into the back of the truck parked in front of the house. "We'll have to deal."

"He's right," Nami agreed, tossing the fry pan she had been holding into one of the boxes. "This is all for our sake. Zoro, are there any more boxes?"

Luffy wandered back into what had been his home for the last eight years as his friends continued to converse outside. He gazed at the empty rooms, a sudden feeling of nostalgia washing over him. Eight years ago, the celestial dragons had ripped his world apart. Windmill village had been eliminated from the map. Garp, Dadan and her crew, Makino, even Shanks had been brutally murdered in the massacre that took place. And Ace….Ace had been taken away from him. Luffy still didn't know if his brother was alive or dead.

_He's definitely alive_ he thought furiously to himself. His hands balled into fists as he bit back a sudden surge of grief. _If he was dead I would definitely know_

Unconscious and half-dead, Luffy had been discovered by Zoro and Usopp who had been part of a rescue crew. They had taken him back to Lone Island where Nami nursed him back to health.

Luffy had been the only rescued survivor of the massacre.

….

"Heard a new group of civilians are coming in today," Kidd said gruffly. Ace walked in between the broad red-head and Law, towards Break's main office.

"Hn," Ace replied absent-mindedly.

"Wonder if they'll bring in anybody we know," Kidd continued.

"Doubt it," Law replied sharply. He narrowed his eyes at Kidd. "Don't get your hopes up Kidd."

"I'm not," Kidd grumbled, but Ace knew better. The light in his eyes had not died yet.

_The light called hope_ Ace mused.

Everybody knew Kidd was still keeping an eye out for Killer, his childhood friend. They had been separated when Kidd's home town was attacked, almost ten years ago. Still, the red-head retained the belief that Killer was still very much alive. Ace's light had died. Eight years ago. With his baby brother.

_Luffy…_

Even the name brought him immeasurable pain.

Their conversation stopped there as they had reached the front door of Break's office. Law knocked and a voice bade them to enter.

Break was a diminutive man with a commanding presence. He was an albino by birth and thus had pale skin and hair the color of snow and cranberry-colored eyes. He folded his slim fingers in an elegant arch in front of him as he observed his top soldiers from behind a pair of immaculately polished glasses.

"Sir." Law bowed slightly. Ace and Kidd followed suite.

"You three must've heard about our forces up North?" Break inquired without greeting.

"Yessir," Law replied.

"It appears that the celestial dragons have united forces with Donflamingo," Break said emotionlessly. Kidd gnashed his teeth at the name and Ace's scowl deepened. Break studied them carefully, his own face betraying no emotion. "I'm sure you know what this means. They've broken down our strongest front that we've maintained for over a year now. Marco is dead. The next place they will target is here."

"We've the civilians here," Kidd said grimly.

"Indeed. If they ran us over here, the war is over for us. That being said, I'm deploying the three of you and only the three of you since we can't afford any more pointless sacrifices. The enemy troops numbers around five thousand."

"Piece of cake," Kid smirked, smashing one of his fists into his open palm.

Break stared at him. "I wouldn't be too confident yet," he said slowly. "You see, we're not sure if Donflamingo is with them or not."

"If he's there," Law gasped, "that means…"

"Yes. If he's there, it might be a close battle, even for you three." Break fixed his unwavering scarlet gaze on them. "But this is the only thing we can do at the moment. You three are the finest weapons I've ever created….Can you do it?"

Law didn't reply immediately. Kidd snarled in frustration.

"Yessir," Ace replied calmly. His comrades looked at him. Kidd shrugged. Law sighed.

"Yessir," Law replied.

"Can't help it," Kidd growled.

"Good." Break allowed a small smile to slide over his thin lips. It didn't reach his eyes. "You are to depart tonight."

….

"This place is huge!" Usopp exclaimed, looking up in awe at the ceiling stretching thousands of feet above them. The civilian-occupied area of the facility was essentially a tall cylinder, fifty floors high. Each floor had sixty rooms, arranged in a circle, and each room held four people.

"Well it does have to house over ten thousand civilians," Nami replied, crossing her arms. She glanced over and Luffy and Zoro, who were also staring up in awe. "You guys are sharing a room with one other person, aren't you?"

"Yeah, his name is Sanji or something," Zoro replied. He crinkled his brow, "Sounds like a pretty stupid name."

"I wonder if he's a nice guy. I hope he is!" Usopp said happily. He stretched his arms into the air. "At least we'll be safe here. Right? Right? Na, Luffy?"

"R-right," Luffy replied, forcing a smile.

…

"Why the hell do we have to do such low level grunt work?" Ace complained, striding down the hallway connecting the main facility to the civilian area.

"We're short on people," Law replied bluntly.

"Still, supervising the new civilians?"

"We'll be done in thirty minutes," Law snapped, "quit complaining."

The two men entered the circular building. Ace's eyes roved over the haggard crowd, standing around with cardboard boxes and leather trunks, packed with their worldly belongings. Most of the civilians, like most newcomers, were staring up at the ceiling, marveling at the sheer size of the place.

"Usopp! Quit spacing out and help me move our stuff!" a voice said loudly.

Ace's gaze shifted over to the source of the voice-a frazzled looking girl with bright orange hair drawn into a pony tail. She was nagging at a boy with long, curly, black hair and an abnormally long nose. Behind them was a tall, muscular boy with sea-green hair and a scar over one of his eyes. Next to him was….

Ace felt all the air leave his lungs. His eyes widened.

_It can't be._

_ He's dead._

_ I couldn't protect him._

Luffy suddenly had the feeling that somebody was staring at him. He looked up, rubbing the prickly sensation away from his neck. His gaze searched the crowd around him for the perpetrator, when his eyes fixed on a man standing apart from the crowd. He was wearing a black uniform and thick-soled combat boots, making him stand out even more.

_I guess he works here?_

Luffy squinted so he could see the man's face and started. Freckles. Dark eyes. Thin lips.

The man was staring straight back at him. They locked eyes. Luffy felt his heart rate speed up. His breaths started to come in short pants.

Zoro noticed first. "Hey, Luffy, you alright?" he asked, placing a hand on Luffy's shoulder. "Oi, your face is completely white."

The younger boy didn't seem to hear him. He stumbled forward a couple of steps.

"Ace," he whispered. Tears welled in his eyes and streaked down his cheeks as he hurtled towards the man in the black uniform. "ACE!"


	2. Chapter 2: Control

_The fire was all-consuming. The orange and red beast showed little mercy as it devoured everything in its path._

_ The acrid smoke burned Ace's lungs as he desperately searched around him for an escape route. His ears were overwhelmed by the crackling of the conflagration and the sounds of frightened screaming. He felt the tears sting his eyes._

_ "Ace…Ace…Makino….and Shanks…." a small form pressed against him, trembling. Ace pulled the little body close to him, squeezing the hand that clung desperately onto his. _

_ "It's okay Luff. I'll protect you," Ace whispered fiercely, "No matter what, I'm here."_

_But he saw his own despair reflected in the black depths of his brother's eyes. Eyes that looked at him with trust and adoration. Eyes that pushed him to survive no matter what._

_ Suddenly, Luffy was yanked away from him and a rough hand wrapped around the back of his neck. The ground fell away from beneath his feet as he was lifted helplessly into the air by an unknown form. _

_ "Oh, this one looks good," a masculine voice rumbled through the mask covering his attacker's face. _

_ "LET ME GO!" Ace screamed, kicking his legs furiously against the man. The man simply held him at an arm's length. "Oooh, plenty of energy, this one. He'll make an excellent slave in a couple of years." _

_ "What about this one?" his companion asked, holding up Luffy. Luffy was sobbing openly._

_ "Ace," he sniffled, "Ace!"_

_ "LET ME GO!" Ace screamed again, renewing his efforts to free himself from his attacker's grasp. He lunged for his brother, only to be yanked back harshly. "LUFFY HANG ON!"_

_ "Kill that one, he's too young to be any use," the first man said dismissively. _

_ "NO!" Ace doubled his effort to free himself. "PUT HIM DOWN! I'LL KILL YOU BASTARD, I'LL KILL YOU!"_

_ "ACE!" Luffy cried out in fear as the second man unsheathed a knife, its edge glinting evilly in the firelight. _

_ "LUFFY!"_

_ The knife plunged downwards. Luffy froze. Ace gaped in horror._

_ "NO! LUFFY!"_

_Luffy blinked back at him with tearstained eyes. His hands clutched at the blade that had impaled him through the chest. His small mouth opened, releasing a trickle of blood._

_ "A…ce."_

_The man yanked back his weapon. The blade was now stained with blood. Luffy's blood. The boy's body hung limp in the man's grasp, like a rag doll. The man thrust the body onto the ground, re-sheathing his knife. _

_ "Let's go," the first man, still holding Ace, commanded._

_ "No…No…No, no, no, no," Ace gasped as he was carried away. He was powerless. No matter how much he struggled he could not go to little brother. Luffy remained unmoving, a pool of scarlet spreading around him. _

_"Luffy…Luffy…LUFFY!"_

"ACE!"

Ace felt as if time had slowed down. He couldn't hear anything other than his voice. He couldn't see anything other than the pale, peaked face and the scar underneath black eyes.

_Luffy_

_ Impossible_

Luffy leaped into his arms, his legs wrapping around his waist. He was real. Ace felt the wetness and warmth of tears soak his neck. And suddenly, time was rushing back and he stumbled backwards at the weight of the life that clung to him.

"Ace, I can't believe it," Luffy gasped between sobs, "Ace…Ace…I knew it, you were alive. I knew it!"

"Lu…" Ace slowly wrapped his arms around the younger boy's waist, "Luffy?"

"It's me!" Luffy cried into his shoulder. His hands bunched the material of Ace's shirt. "It's me, Ace!"

"God…" Tears sprang to Ace's eyes. He embraced his brother tightly for the first time in eight years, drinking in Luffy's presence hungrily. "I thought…you…they stabbed you…there was so much blood…"

Luffy sniffled and released his grip on Ace's shirt long enough to grin at Ace through his tears. "It was nothing. As if I'd die from something like that!"

Ace laughed for the first time in years and tousled the unruly raven hair. It was Luffy. He was alive. He was here.

Nothing else mattered.

"I have so much I want to tell you," Luffy started excitedly, "I met some new friends who saved me—"

He was interrupted by the sudden wailing of a siren. Ace and Law both stiffened visibly while the civilians stared at each other in confusion.

"W-what's going on?" Luffy asked, staring up at the flashing red lights.

"EVACUATE THE CIVILIANS!" Law shouted. "EVACUATE THE CIVILIANS!"

The newcomers were quickly herded into a group. Ace pulled Luffy reluctantly away from him.

"Go," he commanded his younger brother, "We can catch up later."

"But Ace—"

"Go, Luffy!"

Ace's ear piece crackled to life and suddenly, Break's calm voice filled his ears.

"They moved faster than we anticipated," Break said without panic. But Ace could hear the strain in his voice. "Listen to me carefully. The enemy has already breached our first barrier. They're headed straight for the civilian tower."

"What? Why here?" Ace asked, running over to join Law. The other residents of the civilian tower were emerging from their rooms. More people in black uniform had emerged to lead them towards the stair case that had emerged on the ground floor of the tower, leading to an underground safety house. Ace spotted Luffy's black head near the end of the crowd.

"I don't know," Break admitted. "But they're headed straight for you. I'll send the Supernova unit for backup right away. They're all on their way. Meanwhile, just try to get the civilians out of the way."

"Roger."

"Ace."

"What?"

Break lowered his voice. "Don't use _that_."

"I know."

"No matter what. Its unstable and it could kill you. Just stick to the basics."

"I know."

There was no further time for conversation as the northern wall of the tower suddenly busted open with a tremendous crash. Blocks of cement and rubble flew every which way as an enormous shadow emerged from the clouds of dust. Ace shielded his eyes and squinted hard, trying to make out his attacker's form.

"Hey, hey, hey, HEY!" a familiar voice shrieked.

Ace turned to see a flash of pink as Bonney swung into the tower. She launched off one of the railings and balanced there. He could see a slice of pizza dangling from her mouth. She shoved it down in one go and shifted her giant cannon onto her shoulder, aiming for the shadow. There was a deafening explosion and the creature roared in pain. Bonney's eyes were wild as she cackled and fired the first shot. "YOU INTERRUPTED MY MEAL FATTY," she yelled. "SERVES YOU RIGHT!"

"Oi, Bonney!" Ace yelled at her, "You'll hit the civilians!"

"Forget it, she won't listen," Kidd growled, suddenly appearing at Ace's side. The red-head lifted his double cannons, strapped to his wrists like an extension of his arm. He aimed for the shadow as well. "What the hell is that?"

Before Ace could reply, he heard what sounded very much like a monkey's shrieking.

"Yo, Scratchman!" Marshall D. teach rumbled, emerging from the debris, "shut the fuck up!"

"YEAH, SHUT UP MONKEEEEY!" Bonney yelled, dropping down agiley onto the floor. She shifted her ridiculously oversized cannon onto her shoulder again, repositioning it for comfort.

Apoo swung into view, his long, double joined arms providing perfect leverage for him to swing from the half-broken railings. "Hey, hey," he called back, ignoring their insults. "Block your ears comrades, I'm about to do a legendary solo."

"Wait!" Ace yelled, "The civilians—"

Apoo ignored him and thrust back his head and emitted a low thrum, like the sound of a drum.

"And, Boom!" Apoo shouted as the wall around the enemy exploded. There was a cry as some of the enemy soldiers fell. The cloud of dust had finally cleared enough for them to see the main attacker. It was a lizard-like thing with purple hair and bluish skin, eyes marked with black. Ace had seen his picture many times in Break's file reports.

"It's Gekko Moriah!" somebody, he didn't know who, shouted.

Moriah roared and charged at them, the enemy soldiers gathering around his huge feet like a swarm of flies. All hell broke loose then. The lower ranking soldiers continued to push the numerous civilians into the safe house as the Supernovas launched into battle. Ace grabbed two of the soldiers by the collar and smashed their heads together. While they remained collapsed, he hastily drew his gun and shot them both in the throat. He swiveled around and landed a central kick to another soldier, sending him careening into the nearest wall. He could see Law on the far side, engaging in a rapid sword fight with a large man dressed in a purple kimono. Basil Hawkins had arrived as well, with his blasted cards.

"Today is an unlucky day…for killing!" he said emotionlessly as he drove his knife through a soldier's gut.

Ace was taking out another pair of soldiers when a sudden scream pierced the air. He whipped around to see the orange-haired girl from earlier being lifted by Moriah, off the ground.

"Let…go…you…fat…lizard!" the girl shrieked, pounding her fists into the blue-green skin to no avail.

"Nami!" a familiar voice cried.

Ace froze in horror as he saw Luffy hurtling towards Moriah. Luffy leaped, digging his finger nails into Moriah's arm as he clawed his way towards Nami.

Moriah glared down at the boy, unamused before roaring and flinging his arm one way. Luffy's body smashed into the wall and slid down limply onto the ground.

"LUFFY!" Ace screamed. Suddenly, all he could smell was fire and blood.

"Luffy!" Nami shouted, equally alarmed.

To his relief, Luffy quickly leaped to his feet again, wiping away the blood that trickled down the right side of his scalp. His relief was short-lived however, as his little brother recklessly ran at the monster again.

"LUFFY, STOP!" Ace shouted, but his voice was drowned out by the din of battle. Just then, he was distracted by a sudden presence. He whirled around with his gun and found him face to face with a face he was all too familiar with.

"SMOKER!" he roared. He grabbed the sword strapped to his back and held it out in front of him.

"PORTGAS!" the white-haired man returned, drawing his electric baton.

"LUFFY!" a female voice screamed.

There was a clang and a crackle as metal met metal. Ace gritted his teeth, pushing back against smoker with all the strength in his body. He glanced over at Moriah. His stomach dropped. The orange haired woman was sitting on the ground, ruffled but unhurt. Luffy was in Moriah's grasp, landing heavy punches to the lizard's face. Despite this, he was clearly losing the fight, overwhelmed by the sheer size of his enemy.

"Where are you looking?" Smoker growled, thrusting his baton forward for another strike. Ace blocked again. He could see Moriah enclose Luffy in his hand. Luffy screamed in pain as Moriah started to squeeze.

"NO!" Ace heard himself shout.

Blood pumped through his veins and his vision went red.

A distant voice crackled into his ear. "Ace, don't!" Break shouted.

An inhuman roar shook the entire building.

Smoker's eyes widened as he was suddenly pushed back violently by a strong force. Ace's sword shattered in his hand as black veins webbed through his skin, up his neck and cheeks, around his eyes. His hair crackled with energy and the whites of his eyes turned black, the irises turning golden. His pupils became slits, like a cat's. He roared again as he opened up his palms.

Fire crackled up his arms. Without superhuman speed and strength, he hurtled into Moriah, before the monster could react. The monster let out a scream of pain as he struck again, driving his flame-embrace foot into Moriah's chin, this time snapping the creature's neck back. Moriah dropped Luffy to the ground in a limp heap. The sight filled Ace with fury.

"Ace, stop this! This is a order! Stop!" Break's voice blared into his ear.

"Shut up!" Ace snarled, ripping the ear piece out. He crushed it easily in his hand and threw the pieces away, silencing the voice.

His vision flickered from white, to black, to red, to white.

_Surrender. Surrender to me._

_Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill, kill, kill, kill._

The last thing he remembered was Law and Kidd both running towards him at full speed. Then his vision went white as he surrendered all control to the mindless rage.


	3. Chapter 3: Betrayal

When Ace came to, his surroundings were completely white. He blinked in the blinding light, trying to shift his body. It felt like a thousand pounds of steel were on top of him, hindering all movement.

His vision cleared and he realized the white was from the sheets of the cot he was occupying. He recognized the white walls of the medical wing. He tried to shift and immediately felt a sharp pain shoot through his entire body, in an agonizing wave. He emitted a groan.

"Painful?" a cold voice broke through his consciousness.

Ace turned his head the best he could, with his entire neck being bandaged, and found himself face to face with Break. His cranberry eyes locked on Ace's dark ones.

"You almost died this time. Your heart stopped thrice." Break held up three slim fingers to emphasize his point.

"I—the civilians. I couldn't control it."

"No just any civilian." Break's mouth curled into a displeased grimace. "Your brother? …though as I understand it, the two of you are not related by blood."

Ace didn't reply suddenly feeling a chasm open up in the bottom of his stomach as if he was looking down a steep drop.

"Ace," Break said firmly, like a parent to a child, "you are not to associate with Monkey D. Luffy again."

Ace stared at his supervisor without surprise. "No," he replied immediately, his voice like blunt steel.

"You deliberately disobeyed me," Break said coldly. "I told you not to use it and you went right ahead and did the opposite. You not only put yourself in danger but your allies as well."

"He's my brother and I'll protect him."

"You'll do as you are told," Break snapped. "Have you forgotten Ace? I saved your life and you have pledged absolute obedience _to me_."

"I am yours to use," Ace conceded, "But I won't give him up. I apologize for disobeying your orders and will be more careful to follow in the future. But Luffy is somebody I was born to protect. I need to stay by his side."

Break shook his head. "Ace," he said leaning back in the chair he was occupying, "do you know why I created the supernova unit?"

"To eliminate the enemy," Ace replied simply.

"Yes, but that isn't all." Break sighed and folded his hands over his lap. "I created it for people who had nothing to lose. Your division is composed solely of individuals who have no friends, family, obligations, or allegiances to speak of. They are simply people who chose to cling to life despite their situation and fight so one day they might attain an actual purpose in life. Do you know why I did this?"

"So they'll obey you without question?" Ace suggested.

"No." Break's voice dropped, "it's because there's nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose. They will fight naturally with all that they have, as if they are always being driven into a corner. They are the ultimate soldiers and out of them you are the most exceptional. You are the only one who found a way to coexist with the power you harbor inside your body. And for that reason, I cannot set you free."

"Then take it back, the power." Ace clenched his left forearm where the black marks served as a constant reminder of his imprisonment…and his purpose. It sent more shooting pains down his arm but he ignored it.

"You know I can't do that." Break's voice suddenly turned dangerously low and he stood up, signaling the end of their discussion. "You are to deter the boy's attempts to interact with you and continue to follow my orders as you always have been. And at the proper moment, you will release your power."

Ace sat up stiffly, ignoring the protests in every muscle. "Break—"

"You will do as you are told, Ace," Break interrupted, eyes flashing. "If you don't…." his voice turned grim "I'll be forced to terminate the boy."

Ace's eyes shot wide open. "I'LL KILL YOU!" he suddenly roared, gripping the railings around his bed so tightly the bandages around his hands turned red. The tube attaching him to an Intravenous Drip snapped clean in half, allowing the clear liquid to splatter on the ground. Break hardly reacted, his face unmoved by the sudden outburst of violence.

"Don't get so worked up in your condition," he said calmly, "I won't kill him unless you give me reason to." He turned around so he was facing Ace again, a couple of feet away from the door. "Even if you did interact with him, what guarantee do you have that you won't hurt him? You can't control your power very well now, can you?"

Ace opened his mouth then closed it, unable to form a response.

"I'm doing you a favor, Portgas," Break said gently, "I'm protecting your precious brother from you. You'll bring him nothing but pain, the way you are now." With that, Break exited the room, leaving Ace deflated and miserable behind him.

_I'm protecting your precious brother from you_

"Damnit," Ace mumbled into his bandaged hands, "DAMNIT!"

….

It took another couple of days for Ace to feel well enough to return to his daily tasks. had given him a long lecture, berating him for being so rowdy in the medical wing and activating his powers again.

"The next time you do it, I can't guarantee you'll live," he told Ace grimly. was a technically a reindeer but acted more or less like a human. Ace had made the mistake of undermining his words because of his strange form when he first arrived at the facility and had never talked back to the reindeer since.

Three more days passed and Ace fell back into his daily routine. He did his best to push Luffy into a corner of his mind though pictures of the raven-haired boy continued to return, successfully distracting him. On the third day since his return, as he was heading back to his room, the source of his distraction appeared in person.

"Ace!" a familiar voice called.

Every muscle in Ace's body froze. He skidded to an abrupt stop. Luffy was standing in front of Ace's door, his lanky arms crossed across his small chest. When Ace appeared, Luffy's eyes brightened.

"Luffy…"

"You passed out after the fight, there was a lot of blood." Luffy stopped in front of Ace, smiling broadly, "there was a lot of blood but they said you lived. I'm glad. You're okay now?"

"Y-yeah." Ace looked at the ground, unable to meet Luffy's eyes.

"Man, took me a while to find out where you were staying. They wouldn't let me into the medical wing or anything! There was a raccoon there or something and he was all grumpy like 'don't be bothering my patients!' man," Luffy laughed, oblivious to Ace's growing discomfort. , "he's a raccoon but he does things like a human. He's so interesting. Anyway, I had to keep bothering people until…what was his name? Trafidger or something told me where your room was. He's a good guy, Trafidger!"

"His name is Trafalgar," Ace couldn't resist correcting. He barely suppressed a smile. Luffy really hadn't changed.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what I said. Trafooger," Luffy said dismissively. "Anyways, I'm real thankful you saved my ass back there. We should go talk somewhere, I really want—"

"Luffy, I can't," Ace interrupted.

Luffy stopped, his smile rapidly disappearing from his face. "Huh? Why?"

"I'm…look, Luffy, we shouldn't see each other anymore." Ace sighed and locked eyes with his brother, knowing he would find confusion and hurt there.

"W-why? We just got back together!"

"I know, but we're in the middle of a war right now," Ace said, doing his best to keep his voice from trembling. "I have duties as a soldier and you're a civilian. You're not even supposed to be here, all civilians are supposed to keep to the supervised facilities in case of an emergency attack like last week."

Luffy's hands balled into fists. "I don't need protecting. I'm strong. I trained with Zoro every day and now I can—"

"Luffy, don't come see me ever again," Ace said harshly.

"Ace—"

"Honeatly, you're a nuisance. Don't follow me. If you see me, pretend like you don't know me. Go back to your friends and let me do my job."

Luffy's face crumpled and Ace tore his eyes away, feeling a pang in his heart. He pushed past Luffy and headed into his room. Luffy's gaze burned into his back like twin fires as he closed the door behind him without looking back.

On the other side of the door, he sank down to the floor and hung his head between his legs, feeling like he was going to throw up.

_I don't fucking want this_

Images of the hurt in Luffy's expression made his chest ache and his head throb. Guilt weighed at the bottom of his stomach.

_I'm sorry Luffy. I'm so damn sorry. _

…..


	4. Chapter 4: Fuck Buddy

_I'm protecting your precious brother from you_

"Nnngh! Ace!"

_You'll bring him nothing but pain, the way you are now_

"Slow the fuck down, you moron!"

Ace thrust into the pale body lying prone before him. He was in his room, fucking Law. The older male groaned as Ace ignored his complaints, fucking him harder. Their gasps and the sound of skin on skin filled the semi-dark room.

"To the right, yeah, fuck, right there."

"Good spot?" Ace smirked.

"Shut up. Nngh!"

_You'll bring him nothing but pain_

Ace reached down and circled his palm around Law's rock-hard cock. Law moaned and started to pump his hips, rutting against Ace's palm. A couple of minutes later he stiffened.

"Ace…gonna cum," he mumbled before shuddering and climaxing into Ace's waiting hand. Ace grunted and came seconds later. He stayed like that, Law's legs on either side of him, until the last spasms died. He then pulled out with a wet squelching noise and collapsed on top of Law's sweaty body, his breath intermingling with Law's.

"Forgot, Break wants you asap," Law mumbled, "sent me to get you."

Ace groaned. "The hell? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was going to and then you pushed me down without warning, horny bastard," Law grumbled. He rolled over and grabbed his jeans when a thunderous knock started them both out of their post-sex reverie.

"I'll get it," Ace grumbled, rolling out of his bed reluctantly. He yanked on his underwear on the way to the door, the knocks growing increasingly insistent.

"I'm coming!" he shouted, pulling open the door.

It was Luffy. The younger boy looked startled that the door actually opened but quickly replaced his surprise with a scowl.

"I can't accept it," he declared loudly, crossing his arms before Ace could get a word out. "I know I'm dumb but I absolutely won't accept it."

Ace stared at Luffy, a sudden surge of emotion throwing the coherence of his thoughts into shambles. Luffy stared at him defiantly.

"Who is it?" Law asked, appearing at Ace's shoulder. Law had only pulled his pants on and his shirt was in his hand. Luffy stared at him. "Oh, the little brother. Civilians aren't supposed to be in this area, you know"

"What are you doing here Trafeeger?" Luffy demanded.

"I'm going," Ace said abruptly, pushing past Luffy. He strode down the hall. Luffy didn't follow him.

….

"Infiltration," Break declared, slapping his pale hand onto the map spread out on his desk. Ace pushed down a feeling of intense hatred to glance down at the map long enough to recognize Break was pointing to Sabody, the main headquarters where the Celestial troops were stationed.

"Infiltration?" Ace repeated slowly, being careful to mask any recognizable emotion in his voice.

"Yes." Break sat back in his chair. "I want three things to happen. One, I want you to get captured by them. The group that attacked us should be regrouping around…here." Break pointed to a spot on the Alabasta desert, ways away from the Resistance facility. Go in a single-man attack and kill off the weaker ones and leave a couple of strong ones then let them capture you. They will undoubtedly have to take you back to their headquarters without enough soldiers for a decent second attack. Two, after you get their headquarters, I want you to spend exactly a week in silence. They will most likely torture you for information. Three, after the week is up, I want you to spend another two weeks getting information from them without arousing their suspicions. Mostly, I'd like a map of their headquarters and a list of their inventory. You got it?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. After you finish getting the information, do whatever you need to do to get out of there…alive." Break emphasized the last word with unusual sharpness and glanced up to lock eyes with Ace.

"Yes sir," he replied, voice impassive.

"You leave in three days. Prepare yourself."

…..

Luffy was broodingly sitting cross-legged on top of his cot in the small room that had been assigned to him, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji. Nami was in the next room over with three other girls Luffy forgot the names of. Sanji turned out to be one of the volunteers in the kitchen so Luffy had just come back from eating as much of Sanji's cooking he could. The man was a magician. But recalling his second confrontation with Ace made the stomach sit heavily in his stomach.

He remembered the way Ace had greeted him. He had laughed and tousled Luffy's hair. He had smiled. He had been glad Luffy was there. It was only after Ace had been released from the hospital that he had become strange.

"Something wrong?" A gruff voice asked. Luffy felt a heavy hand land on his head and ruffle his black hair.

"Hey Zoro," he greeted.

"Hey." Zoro took a seat next to him, carefully leaning his katanas against the dresser next to the bed. "You've been awfully quiet since we got here."

"Yeah…I guess," Luffy replied glumly. His thoughts flashed back to Law from three days ago, standing half naked in the doorway of Ace's room. He visualized the rumpled sheets in his mind. He heard the moans coming through the doorway before his forceful knocks drowned them out.

_"Were you guys…."Luffy trailed off. Ace had left him alone with this man._

_ Law arched his eyebrow in amusement. Fucking? Yes._

_Color sprang to Luffy's cheeks. "Are you his boyfriend?"_

_Law laughed out loud. "No, we're fuck buddies. It's alright, younger brother-san." Law leaned in close, "everybody in our division fucks for two reasons only: hormone regulation…and to feel that we are alive."_

"Luffy?"

Zoro's concerned voice broke into his thoughts.

"Say, Zoro. What's a fuck buddy?"

Zoro drew in his breath sharply. "It's…." he looked away from Luffy's wide, eager eyes. "It's when two people meet for the sake of having sex," he mumbled.

"Does it feel good when two guys have sex?" Luffy pressed.

"What?" Zoro felt color flush his cheeks as he stared at the younger boy.

"How do two guys do it anyway? Na, Zoro, tell me," Luffy urged, pushing his face close to Zoro's. He jerked backwards in surprise.

"Jesus Christ, Luffy, what the hell brought this on?"

"Zoro, tell me," Luffy begged, ignoring his question.

"God, Luffy!" Zoro pushed him down onto his back suddenly. Luffy looked up blankly at the green-haired boy.

"Zoro?"

"I won't be able to fucking control myself if you keep saying shit like that," Zoro growled between clenched teeth.

"Control yourself? Zo—mmmnh!"

Luffy's voice was muffled by Zoro's lips that were suddenly on top of his without warning. He pushed the older boy away bodily.

"Zoro, what are you doing?" Luffy gasped.

"I'll show you how men have sex."

As Zoro got closer and closer only one thing flashed through Luffy's frozen mind.

_It's not Ace. _

"Zoro, stop!"

Luffy tore away from his friend's grasp. Before Zoro could pin him down again, Luffy rolled out from under him and stumbled towards the door.

_I need to see Ace_

"Luffy!" Zoro yelled, guilt coloring his voice.

Luffy didn't reply, hurtling out the door and down the hallway. Without using the stairs, he agiley scaled the railings in front of the room doors, all the way down to the ground floor where they were repairing the holes in the wall. Without stopping, he sprinted out of the civilian tower, down the hallway, took several turns, and into the branch that housed the supernova division. He stopped at Ace's door and burst in without knocking.

"Fuck yes!"

Luffy stared.

There was a mass of entangled limbs piled on top of Ace's bed. Luffy recognized Law, at the bottom, his legs thrust wide apart. Ace had Law's legs on top of his broad shoulders and was thrusting against him. A red-haired boy Luffy didn't remember the name of was straddling Law's face, moaning as the older male sucked his cock.

The red-haired boy was the first to spot Luffy. He grinned and slid off of Law. Luffy shrank against the wall as he approached. The boy was broad-shouldered and was taller than anybody Luffy had ever seen before.

"Luffy? What the hell are you doing here?" Ace demanded angrily.

"I just…I mean…" Luffy stared back at the red-haired boy who suddenly seized him by the chin and leaned in so close Luffy could feel his hot breath on his skin.

"Don't be like that," the boy grinned, "He's cute. What's your name? Luffy was it?"

"Uh…" Luffy glanced nervously at Ace who was scowling. He pushed out of Law and strode over.

"He's off limits Kidd," Ace warned, shoving the red head away. He turned to Law who had pushed himself up to his elbows and was watching the whole scenario unfold. "You guys better go."

"We just started," Kidd protested.

"C'mon, Kidd." Law stood up and yanked on his pants, "We can go finish up in my room."

Kidd grumbled something under his breath but obligingly picked up his clothing. Ace waited as the two men exited his room before shutting the door and turning on Luffy.

"I told you to keep. Away," he snapped.

Luffy just stared at his older brother, flashes of what he had seen intermingling dizzyingly with flashes of Zoro's face.

"God, you're so fucking persistent!" Ace turned around to grab his boxers from where he had thrown them to the floor. "Go back, Luffy! And quit coming here."

"I can be your fuck buddy."

Ace froze.

"I…don't know how to do it very well," Luffy said carefully, not fully knowing how the words were coming out of his mouth, "but I can be your fuck—"

"Do you even know what that word means?" Ace demanded harshly.

"Yeah, Law and the red-haired guy are your fuck buddies, right? You guys have sex to…" Luffy frowned, recalling Law's words, "to uh…regulate hormone levels and uh…."

"to feel alive," Ace finished flatly.

"Yeah. That."

The two brothers stared at each other.

"Go back, Luffy," Ace finally said tiredly.

"No." Luffy shuffled towards his older brother and wrapped his arms around his waist. He leaned his head against Ace's chest. "Ace, I missed you," he said in a small voice.

"Luffy, stop it," Ace managed to say with difficulty. But he was already losing his willpower.

Luffy loosened his arms and pushed Ace down onto the cot. When the older boy didn't resist, he hooked his legs around Ace's waist and sat there with his head against Ace's shoulder. He kissed Ace's bare collar bone then glanced up to see how Ace was reacting.

Ace's eyes were full of pain. Luffy felt his chest throb.

"I won't leave," he whispered. He kissed Ace's chin tentatively then his cheek. "I won't leave you."

Ace gave up and wrapped his strong arms around Luffy. He shuddered when he felt Luffy's tongue lap the side of his neck.

"I'll…hurt you," Ace panted, sudden arousal coursing through his veins.

_You'll bring him nothing but pain, the way you are now._

"It's fine. I'm strong."

Ace felt his self-control snap. He lifted Luffy up like he weighed nothing and slammed the younger boy onto his cot. Luffy barely managed to draw a breath before Ace swallowed his lips with his own.

Ace release him, his large hands wrapping around Luffy's hips. Luffy gasped when he felt them push up under his shirt, fingers teasing his nipples.

"That feels weird," Luffy complained. Ace shook his head and pushed Luffy's shirt up over his head.

"You'll get used to it," he said, leaning down to roll Luffy's nipples between his teeth. His tongue lapped at the hardening nubs, his fingers tracing abstract designs into Luffy's sides. Luffy felt a strangely warm feeling in his lower stomach and suddenly, his jeans felt too tight. Ace slid his palm over the crotch of Luffy's jeans as if sensing this. Luffy let out a little groan that went straight to Ace's nether regions. He didn't let it show though.

"See, you're feeling it" he said instead. He unhooked the waist band of Luffy's jeans and slid them over his legs. He palmed Luffy's growing cock over the thing material of his underwear- a tight navy blue affair. A little shiver darted down Luffy's spine. Ace pushed Luffy's legs apart and pressed the tip of his tongue against the wet spot forming on Luffy's underwear. His left hand keeping Luffy's legs apart, he cupped Luffy's balls with his right.

"Ace…" Luffy panted.

"Have you ever touched yourself?" Ace asked, hooking his thumbs onto Luffy's underwear and pulling it down. He gulped at the sight of Luffy's dick, pushing up against his stomach, a bead of precum resting on its pink tip.

"…no…" Luffy admitted.

Ace licked a broad strip from Luffy's balls to the tip of his dick causing the smaller boy spasm in his grasp. Ace carefully licked around the tip of Luffy's cock, lapping up the precum, and wrapped his lips around the tip. He sank down low, swirling his tongue around the hardening length. Milky thighs bracketed his head and thin fingers curled through his hair.

"Ace…feels so good," Luffy moaned, arching his back.

Ace bobbed his head in response, eliciting a loud moan from his baby brother.

"Ah…Ace…no…"

Luffy's legs stiffened. He's close Ace decided and swallowed Luffy's full length, his younger brother's dick hitting the back of his throat.

"Something…coming out…Ace!"

Luffy's cum flooded his mouth. Ace held it there and then let it dribble into his hand. He smeared cum over Luffy's puckered opening.

"You're…gonna do it there?" Luffy breathed. He stared down at Ace through half-closed eyes.

"You want to be my fuck buddy don't you? You want to…make me feel good…" Ace trailed off, rubbing the flat of his finger against the sensitive skin surrounding Luffy's hole.

"Sure….anything…as long as it's you," Luffy's response came faintly. Ace stiffened. His chest throbbed.

"It'll hurt you know."

"That's alright."

Ace sighed. He stood, yanking off his boxers, and crawled onto the bed next to Luffy. He rolled the younger boy onto his right side and lifted his left leg, hooking his hand under Luffy's knee. Luffy was trembling underneath his grip as his erection ghosted over Luffy's opening.

Ace thrusted forward and Luffy cried out as the older boy's dick slid in between his thighs. Ace let Luffy's leg drop and rested his hand on Luffy's hip as he fucked Luffy's legs.

"Squeeze your legs more," he ordered in between grunts.

Luffy obeyed. He could feel Ace's hard cock sliding against his sensitive skin. He was hardening again as Ace nudged him from below. His hand wrapped around his own member and started to pump in time to Ace's thrusts. Pleasure heated his stomach.

"Ah….ah…." Luffy moaned and thrust his hips back against Ace.

"You like it when I rub against your sack?" Ace growled, thrusting again.

"Yeah…it's…rubbing…nngh…against me."

Ace wrapped his arms tightly around Luffy and buried his head into Luffy's back. He started to move faster and more insistently, feeling heat coil in the bottom of his stomach.

"Gonna cum…again," Luffy moaned before releasing. The tremors that ran through his body pushed Ace over the edge and the older boy was following not long after. Both boys gasped and Ace released Luffy, his arms falling limply around his brother. Their breaths intermingled.

"You could have put it in," Luffy said sleepily, rolling onto his back.

"Mm," Ace mumbled unintelligibly. He was already half asleep, his face mushed up against Luffy.

"I guess we can clean up tomorrow," Luffy mumbled. He settled down into the messed up sheets and quickly fell asleep.

Ace waited until Luffy's breath evened out before shifting to look up at his brother properly since their reunion. Luffy had grown, almost as tall as Ace now. His raven hair flopped against his narrow face and his eyes were dark, round, and honest. His muscles were like ropes underneath his sun-browned skin, his hip bones and collar bones jutting. Asleep, he looked mature and sexy. Ace brushed a lock of Luffy's hair back from his face before carefully sliding off the bed. He grabbed some towels and wiped Luffy off the best he could before covering him to the neck with a clean sheet. Ace grabbed the dirty sheets and tossed them into the hamper with the rest of his laundry before padding to the attached bathroom to take one last shower.


End file.
